Over 1 000 people were arrested in provinces across the country during the festive season, national police said on Friday.
Police National Commissioner Bheki Cele said 1 097 people were arrested for crimes including murder, robbery and rape.
“Thus far, I am quite pleased with the hard work, dedication and determination displayed by our members. I am confident that we are making a serious dent on crime and we will squeeze the criminals to zero,” Cele said in a statement.
About 263 people were arrested in the Western Cape, making it the province with the highest number of arrests in the country.
In a parallel operation, Western Cape police traced and arrested 337 wanted suspects for various serious crimes.
Limpopo was second highest with a total of 132 people arrested over the festive season.
About 103 people were arrested in KwaZulu-Natal, while Gauteng saw 97 arrests.
The Free State and the Eastern Cape netted 83 and 75 arrests respectively with seven arrests made in the North West.
Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape were yet to file their statistics.
The high visibility of uniformed officers was said to have contributed to the high number of arrests made during December.
Joint operations between the police, metro police, the Road Traffic Inspectorate and other government departments also resulted in numerous arrests during New Year celebrations.
“I am convinced that nothing beats police visibility. The maximum deployment of our officers throughout the country has yielded good results. And this will certainly continue beyond the festive season as part of our strategy going forward,” Cele said. – Sapa